[Anna Akana] So much I want to tell you: a review
“I had a lot of plans for 2020, then came the pandemic. “
I wouldn’t be wrong in saying that anyone reading this line would relate to it. It goes without saying that I was that person too. Initially, I was confused - I thought it would all end soon - “maybe two weeks at max”, I thought to myself when I was wrapping up from my desk at my dream job and heading home end of Feb 2020.
Well, cut to Jan 2022. I am still at home. I have been working from home for two years on-off. TWO WHOLE YEARS! In retrospect, I can think of so many things I could have got done in those two years. People around me got promoted, some changed companies and increased their compensation, some lost weight, some read 100 books per year, and hell most got married. And here I am, where I was in 2020. Plus, I gained 10 pounds.
What has this got to do with the book review you ask? Well, I was always an avid reader in my high school, back in India. My parents were heavy readers and they had tons of books lying around the house and that sparked my interest. However after I came to the USA to study, I left my “avid reader” status back home. Come Dec 2021, after my masters and 2 years of work experience, I missed books. Hence I thought I should start picking up easy reads to force-spark my interest. I don’t see this pandemic ending anytime soon. So I want to start doing everything I could have done two years back. One, starting with getting back my “avid reader” status :)
Review
Okay, so let’s get into our review. This is going to my first ever review of a book. I will most probably be changing up the review structure that suits each book I read. For this book, I will be reviewing the book in four sections.
Author
Book
Key take away from the book
Recommendation
Author
Anna Akana is an American actress, filmmaker, musician, and YouTuber. I have been following Anna on YouTube since my high school years. She makes funny 3 to 5-minute videos about mental health and psychology. She would always end her videos in quirky ways - by cute voice impressions to promote her sponsor or animate parts of her videos to cement her thoughts in us. All in all, the 5-minute video left me thinking about life a tad differently each time. She also has another YouTube channel called BonerBookClub, where she reviews books. I recently came across this channel when I wanted to read a book that she had reviewed so as to spark my interest in reading. One fine day, I came across a video of her where she told me that she was writing a book, this was an old video. I assumed that the book was already out by now and immediately googled her name to check she authored any book. That’s how I found this book. And I placed the book for pickup from my local library. I got it in a day or two.
Book
Background: Anna lost her younger sister by suicide at the age of 13 years on valentine’s day. She spent years trying to overcome the loss and grief. After various trials and errors to find her place back in life, she finally found comedy that cemented her as a person in society. Anna wrote this book in memory of her sister Kristina. Everything she could have told her about life and advice she could have given her while she was growing. Hence the name - So Much I Want To Tell You: Letters To My Little Sister.
The Review: The book is divided into four parts. The first part discusses what creativity means and how can one find creativity or passion. She mentions various areas she tried her hand in - be it acting, singing, standup, producer, director, and many other hats she had to wear to find her true creative self. This part nudges us to self-reflect and realize what creativity and passion mean to us. The second part discusses the one question everyone in their twenties asks themselves at least once: “Who am I, and where do I belong?” or if I have to say this in one word - Identity. She goes into her definition of self-care, beauty, and mental health when trying to find your place and identity in this society. She gives examples from experiences in her life where she derived answers to these questions and urges you to find your own. The third part of the book covers how can one start off with handling their finances. “The earlier you know how to handle finances, the better”, and this is what Anna portrays in this book. She mentions her mistakes while running her own business as a female entrepreneur, which gives way to learning how to be independent. She goes on to talk about how to be a boss, work hard, work smart and know what you stand for. I felt very empowered to see someone similar to me grow to the heights she has grown. The final and most underrated part of the book, and the shortest section too, talk about what makes us a part of society - Relationships. We are always surrounded by people and never are truly alone. This section although, centers mostly on romantic relationships. She talks about a few of her previous romantic relationships and how she grew with them or apart from them, the challenges she faced, the lessons she learned, and the mistakes she made. She urges us to find a partner who not only loves us as a person but respects and challenges us. In conclusion, the book sends a message to choose life even with its hardship, binding the entire book together.
Key Take-Aways
It’s a very short book and extremely easy to read.
I loved the structure of the book, the way it was divided into sections that interested me to read and keep reading.
The sound of the book felt like it came from an elder sister advising her younger sister one Saturday afternoon after lunch, soothing and calming but also inspiring.
Some quotes from the book have stuck with me even now. It feels empowering. For example, this quote is almost like a mantra you can tell yourself early morning:
“ Don’t apologize for your existence. Don’t ask if it’s okay. You’re the boss, Do what you need to do to get shit done. Give yourself full permission to be confident in your choice, execute them without second-guessing yourself, and kick-ass!”
I would have liked the section on “Relationships” a bit broader - which covered not only the romantic relationships but also workplace relationships, friends, family that play an important role in our lives
Recommendation
I would recommend this book if you are in your 20s or early 30s. I would have liked if the book was a bit extensive to read - meaning I would have liked involved chapters and analysis of her choices more. Also, the last chapter of the book was very narrow - ie it only spoke to Anna’s romantic relationship. I would have liked her to talk more about her relationship with her sister and what she could have changed if her sister were still alive. Apart from that, this book itself is easy to read and employ. You will get a sense of where to get started in your life and importantly find your “WHY’.
Average Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Ease of Reading: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Depth of Knowledge: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Re-read score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
